EVPMA settles in A2

JOHN KRAFT/Daily Gilbert Omenn, the University's new executive vice president for medical affairs, speaks at a news conference yesterday after President Lee Bollinger announced he was hired for the new position.

He arrived at the University on such short notice yesterday that Gilbert Omenn hasn't quite gotten used to his new surroundings.

"It all happened so all of a sudden," Omenn said. "As most of you know, I literally just got here. There's a lot of rearranging to do."

Omenn came to campus to field questions about the responsibilities of his newly formed role as executive vice president for medical affairs. When introducing Omenn, President Lee Bollinger listed Omenn's qualifications and accolades.

Bollinger highlighted Omenn's extensive government and private industry experience, which includes service as a White House Fellow at the Atomic Energy Commission under Presidents Nixon and Ford and an appointment as the associate director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1977 to 1981. More recently, he served as chair of the Presidential-Congressional Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management.

"It is really quite a combination," Bollinger said of Omenn's experiences in government and science.

Omenn spoke of his priorities and challenges as he embarks on the high-powered position, which includes overseeing the School of Medicine, University Hospitals and a $1 billion annual budget. He said his first objective is to maintain excellence.

"I can tell you my father is a patient of advanced cancer," Omenn said. "Patients who need it want to go to the best place they can go. This is expected in an academic medical center."

He said a main goal is to align the academic, research and educational spheres of the University for the mutual benefit of each sector "to capture the real potential of the community."

Provost Nancy Cantor said she was pleased that Omenn shows dedication to furthering interdisciplinary collaboration across the University.

"I am delighted that that voice and those values will be represented," Cantor said. "Everybody believes in the colleague, the champion and the collaborator.

"As provost I just cannot imagine a better fit to the team Lee is building," she said. "We will be able to get outreach and lots of different perspective to hear. We won't always agree, and that is great. It will bring merging and talking."

Omenn comes to the Medical Center in a time of great need. In an effort to combat an impending financial crisis and offer patient costs at a rate closer to competitors, the Medical Center began a plan to reduce $200 million from the hospitals' budget in three years. Omenn faces the final task of cutting $70 million.

"It is true that academic institution's cost are higher than their competitors. Costs have to be reduced," Omenn said. "Substantial reductions have already been achieved, and more will occur in this fiscal year.

"The challenge in political and government circles is, 'How do you get quality and maintain quality while cutting costs?'" he said. "This is a very different question than how do you get the lowest possible costs."

He emphasized the importance of examining options of alliance and networking with businesses and other institutions, as well as furthering the efficiency of the University's Managed Health Organization - M-Care.

"I'm keen to see us play a national leadership role in these kind of developments," Omenn said.

Kenneth Trester, director of Planning and Marketing for the Medical Center, said it may take time for Omenn to develop his game plan because he is new.

"We have so many issues in this place that to ask him to prioritize them now is premature," Trester said. "There are issues that need to be dealt with on all three fronts - academic, educational and clinical. All are important to the mission. He needs to learn much more before he makes an agenda."

Omenn earned his M.D at Harvard University and a Ph.D in genetics from the University of Washington. He joined the medical staff at the University of Washington in 1969 as a fellow in medical genetics, and signed on with the faculty in 1971. He has received awards from the National Institute of Health Research Career Development and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

09-05-97